Survival of the Peninsula fleas

One of our embarrassing local secrets that we never talk about has to do with fleas.

Fleas have been significant to Peninsula history from the first written accounts. The Portola Party was the first Spanish expedition to come to our area over land in 1769. In the diaries kept by those travelers are complaints about the fleas they encountered along our coast. The subject continued to recur in written accounts ever since.

Fleas were not new to the Spanish. Fleas have been annoying mankind since time immemorial. Certain types of fleas were responsible for the plagues of ancient times. So, it was not that the Spanish were discovering a new pest, but it must have been that either the ferocity or the quantity of our local fleas was greater than what was their experience.

That original Spanish exploring party stopped to camp near San Pedro Creek. They complained that the sand near the riverbed was "so thronging with fleas that anyone who went into it, even without pausing there, would come out teeming and reddened with them." Reports on the local Ohlone Indians say they lived in tule shelters. When the fleas became troublesome, they would burn them down and rebuild.

On more than one occasion, explorers would move along rather than camp where they had detected too many fleas. At one time even Father Serra complained, "We are covered with them." Local places were named for them, but we are fortunate they were christened in Spanish. Pulga, rather than flea, sounds so much better. Rancho de las Pulgas, Alameda de las Pulgas, and even the Pulgas Water Temple have been passed down to us. They sound rather romantic.

Generations later it was the Anglos who complained about the fleas they encountered at the homes of the local Californios. While the rancheros were noted for their hospitality, one George Simpson observed that it was the fleas who were "decidedly the best lodged." Another passerby commented on his superior accommodations at the Sanchez home where he found the beds to be without fleas.

It seems that the cat flea is the dominant variety in California. That doesn't mean that they are limited just to cats to feed them. Almost any animals will do, including humans. The bite is rarely felt, but the resulting irritation is what we notice. Apparently one can develop a resistance to this irritation, so that locals can honestly say, "What fleas?" when sensitive visitors complain about them. This must have been the case when the Spanish first came to visit.

The life cycle of the flea can vary from two weeks to eight months. If there is no host to feed on, the young can remain just about anywhere until food arrives. Sand and gravel are suitable places to wait, which is why we sometimes refer to these creatures as "sand fleas," but this is a misnomer. Thus it is possible to come into a home that has been empty for even a year and immediately be greeted by the fleas. The Bay Area apparently provides optimum year-round temperature and humidity for them.

Fortunately for modern man, there are now repellents and pesticides that can control the nasty critters. We haven't wiped them out, however. It seems that the flea, like the cockroach, is a survivor.

Rediscovering the Peninsula appears in the Monday edition of the Daily Journal. For more information on this or related topics, visit the San Mateo County History Museum, 777 Hamilton St., Redwood City.